Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Di Semesta Ini Kita Pernah Gemilang by Ocean Vuong

135 reviews

novella42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can still hear Vuong's gentle, relentless voice when I read quotes or pages from the hardcopy I finally picked up. Sometimes I read a little to remind the writer part of my brain how lyrical words work, and what kind of writer I want to be.

His author-read audiobook performance of this powerful book was nothing short of magnificent. 

A queer Vietnamese American man writes a letter to his mother, a survivor of the Vietnam War, who cannot read. His love for her, and hers for him, is ferocious and beautiful beyond words. Vuong is a poet, but strangely, I find his novel more compelling than his poetry. Tons of content warnings, to the degree I don't know when I will ever feel mentally resilient enough in my own C-PTSD to re-read it in its entirety, but if you're in the mood for a good cry, I can't think of anything more cathartic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Chronic illness, Blood, Homophobia, Car accident, Misogyny, War, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Self harm, Addiction, Sexual content, Animal death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Cancer, Abortion, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Excrement, Cursing, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Gore, Pregnancy, Dementia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Child death, Rape, Abandonment, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Body horror, Sexism, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Torture, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Adult/minor relationship, War, Confinement, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder

solybugs's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book... God, this book, where do I even begin? It was an emotional and heartfelt rollercoaster, full of beautiful writing and thought-provoking metaphors. The author's poetry background comes to life in this novel, making every sentence packed with some kind of hidden message. This book does take some unexpected turns and strange offchutes in the narrative. While they were extremely important to the overall story and did make sense in the bigger picture, while reading them at the moment, it felt uncomfortable at times. But that shows the beauty of this story, that Ocean Vuong can take the darker sides of a topic (that might not even be related to the characters) and make them somehow significant to the overall story. This is a beautiful story, one I will reread to try to find more hidden meanings in Ocean's beautiful writing style. Easy 4.5/5 stars, -0.5 just because of the uncomfy parts (please read a full list of the trigger warnings before reading this book).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, and Mental illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Child abuse, Alcohol, Sexual content, Racism, Addiction, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

Minor: Alcoholism, War, Hate crime, Bullying, and Cancer

ptitirodactyle's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Racism, Sexual content, War, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence

Moderate: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Infertility, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Dementia, Drug use, Homophobia, Cancer, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Excrement, and Mass/school shootings

mo13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Death, Child abuse, War, and Abortion

Moderate: Racial slurs

beth_waller97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Heartbreaking, breathtaking and beautiful. A true masterpiece. I felt my heart break a thousand times for Little Dog, I cried with him, I laughed with him, and wondered about how the world worked with him. This is impactful and beautiful, but also so so sad. The tale this book tells isn’t one I can put into words for a review, but can recommend with my whole heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, War, Xenophobia, Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, and Cancer

sketchydelusion's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Death, Sexual content, Racism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, and War

Minor: Terminal illness, Dementia, and Panic attacks/disorders

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

probably one of the best books i have ever read. i vigorously annotated every page, every word felt dripping with emotion and the weight of memory and remembering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Abortion, Gun violence, Violence, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Gore

laurarevelesg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"When does a war end? When can I say your name and have it mean only your name and not what you left behind?"

Me arrancó el corazón, lo hizo bolita, lo tiró al suelo, le escupió, lo recogió y me lo devolvió. Y yo le agradezco.
Creo que necesitaba leerlo con mayor estabilidad emocional que la que tenía, pero de cualquier modo es una novela que hace justicia a su título. Lo narrado es tan terrible, que solo merece ser plasmado en una manera hermosa. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Moderate: Cancer, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Racial slurs

forestblue's review against another edition

Graphic animal abuse is not the vibe for a bedtime book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Excrement, War, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Vomit

tinyjude's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, War, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Genocide, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Cancer